All living beings are on Earth for a reason, from the tiniest insects to the greatest mammals—and all their habitats are connected. To preserve their existence, we must protect biodiversity: it is our duty to unite and defend animal rights to keep celebrating the wonder of our natural world.
Free-to-use mobile app Agora challenged international photographers to participate in the #Animals2020 photo contest with their best shots of living creatures around the planet.
Agora launched the #Animals2020 photo contest on August 28th. Photographers had until September 11th to participate and share their best photos of all kinds of living beings for the chance to be selected in the Top 50 finalists and make it to the voting phase. As a result, 13,888 photos of all kinds of animals were submitted to the contest, showing the wide and precious variety of animal life surrounding us.
"Photography is a powerful medium to generate empathy and a deeper understanding of the world surrounding us. Only one species living on Earth can choose what the future will look like, and that species is us!" said Octavi Royo, Agora's CEO and Co-Founder.
Congratulations to Indonesian photographer @jjnmatt whose photo ‘Iguana’ gathered the most votes on the Agora app, making him the #Animals2020 Hero and granting him the top prize of $1,000.
Let us know in the comments which pictures you like the best and why!
#1 Winner: Iguana
Location: Jakarta, Indonesia
"The iguana conveys the beauty and uniqueness of nature."
@jjnmatt (Indonesia)
268points
#2 Motherlove
Location: Australia
@olmospatricia (Spain)
244points
#3 Family
Location: Surin, Thailand
"The province of Surin is well-known for its elephants. Traveling to this province would be incomplete without a visit to the Ban Ta Klang Elephant village. I wanted to show how the elephants have become symbols of beauty, grace and elegance despite their gigantic size."
@mannylibrodo (Philippines)
218points
#4 Baby Monkey
Location: Kedoya Utara, Indonesia
@prabuds (Indonesia)
217points
#5 Devotion
Location: Armenian Church, Old Dhaka, Bangladesh
"My friend and I were chatting on the forecourt of the church. I noticed this dog lying on his master's grave. Immediately I went home to look for my camera and, with the permission of the church officials, took the picture."
@saiful0007 (Bangladesh)
204points
#6 Focused
Location: Germany
"I often go to the local wild park to practice wildlife photography. It is impossible to discover a lynx in the wild in my region. Therefore, I was very happy to have the opportunity to see this majestic and beautiful animal in the mentioned park. I was impressed by the sharp eyes of the lynx. On this day there was snow and it was very cold, the park was almost empty. Although the lynx's enclosure is limited, they are very mysterious creatures and do not show themselves every day. I found a place to sit down in the empty park and waited with my thick down jacket on sitting and lying on the ground. It took me almost 2 hours to spark the lynx attention and he slowly came towards my direction. The moment I took the photo I had the feeling of having direct eye contact with the lynx. That feeling really sent shivers down my spine. With this photo, I wanted to evoke the same feeling and emotion I had. The viewer should have the impression of making direct eye contact with this beautiful creature. At this point in my story, I want to give credit to all the real wildlife photographers out there. I have huge respect for the time and knowledge they invest into their work and passion. I think these parks are a good opportunity to practice shooting but you should always mention that the photos were taken in a park and not out in the wild. Otherwise, it delivers a wrong perception of the work, dedication, time, and passion that goes into photographing wild animals in their wild habitat."
@leo.wies (Germany)
177points
#7 Into The Darkness
Location: Dobbiaco Lake, Italy
"The swan is the light breaking through the darkness."
@alan_gallo (Italy)
164points
#8 Encounter At Our Campsite
Location: Kamchatka, Russia
"We spent a few days visiting the volcano Tolbachik during our expedition in Kamchatka. After dinner, suddenly this fox appeared at our camp. It was so curious, so peaceful and friendly. It showed up, watched us, and went away to play in the ashes. It was such a surprising, unexpected and exciting moment that really hit my heart. I want to show the beauty of Mother Nature with these amazing patterns and show this peaceful wild fox and the heartwarming feeling I had at this moment."
@hi.jewi (Germany)
161points
#9 Fierce
Location: Jakarta, Indonesia
"Here's a majestic Sumatran Tiger wandering in the morning sunlight. Sometimes, you just need to be patient and wait for the right moment."
@pitokung (Indonesia)
156points
#10 Misty Heather Field In Full Bloom
Location: Laren, Netherlands
"Every year brings the heather blooming season. This year was even more special as the fields were covered with a thick layer of fog and a highland cattle strolled through."
@glennanthonie (Netherlands)
154points
#11 Arctic Fox
Location: Iceland
"I went looking for this little one for days, when suddenly through the glass of the car and I saw it perched on a slope. I ran and lay a meter from it while I was eating, that's how I managed to catch this magnificent moment."
@photoepb (Spain)
154points
#12 With Mom
Location: Waykambas National Park, Indonesia
"I took this photo in the morning when dozens of elephants were being fed by the nursing staff in the national park."
@sofyanefendi (Indonesia)
146points
#13 All The Shades Of Blue
Location: Gili Meno, Indonesia
"I wanted to capture my appreciation and love for the ocean, the beauty of the underwater world and the importance of protecting our oceans. We went to Gili Meno just with our camera gear so we had to rent the snorkeling gear. Our feet were full of blisters and bleeding, we were fighting a strong current but we just couldn't resist the beauty of the ocean. The water was so clear, there were so many turtles, the lighting was perfect, and no one around. Definitely, a dive to remember!"
@makyandmatt (Czech Republic)
141points
#14 Bear Crossing
Location: Division No. 15, Canada
"Doesn’t get much more Canadian than this!"
@blakehobson (Canada)
141points
#15 Icelandic
Location: Kirkjufell, Iceland
"We were walking in circles close to the famous mountains when a group of Icelandic started running in our direction. As soon as they came closer, they stopped to let us take a shot and then disappeared. The beauty of the country is not only fire and ice but also the animals who live there."
@samuelemiccoli (Italy)
137points
#16 Anemonefish
Location: Sipadan Island, Malaysia
"Sipadan Island is a natural marine park where life thrives. When I was looking at an anemone, this family of clownfish seemed to pose for the camera."
@alexdemartin (Spain)
135points
#17 Mother Bekantan
Location: Cisarua, Indonesia
@irawansubingar (Indonesia)
135points
#18 Reach The Winter
Location: Mongolia
"It was the end of the autumn season, you can tell how pleased the reindeer was with the snow falling again."
@dangthao (Japan)
134points
#19 The Barn Owl Has Landed
Location: Northumberland, UK
@philrobson (UK)
126points
#20 Lioness Pride
Location: Etosha, Namibia
"The subject of this series of pictures is the biggest lion pride I have seen during my African trips, probably 30 members between cubs, lionesses, and 2 males. Doing a safari requires a lot of patience and also some luck. You might think it’s really easy to spot animals, but it’s not. It was truly a movie scene and especially my heart melted when I saw the lionesses walking towards us, aligning in the perfect composition. Lionesses are the core of the pride since they are responsible for hunting and raising the cubs. Like more than 5.000 other mammal-species, lions prides are founded as a matriarchal society. If you are on a safari, try to spot the lionesses first as the most exciting actions tend to happen around them."
@freeilli (Italy)
119points